Tanks, Guitars, and Wands: Feminine Subjectivity and Phallic Cultural Spaces in Three Contemporary Texts

Applying postmodern theory to three contemporary texts, Rachel Talay’s 1995 film Tank Girl, Patti Smith’s 1975 Horses album, and Hermione Granger’s character in the Harry Potter series, I argue that marginally feminist, or seemingly non-feminist texts can do feminist work when postmodern theories are applied. Through Tank Girl’s reversal of the male gaze, her co-optation of Water and Power’s tank, and mockery of traditional forms of overly-aggressive masculinity, Tank Girl is a critique of phallic power spaces and the social power we assign to them. On her album, Horses, Smith occupies the theoretical space of the archetypal male rock performer and in doing so breaks the archetype: as a women inhabiting male rock space successfully, Smith deconstructs the cultural notion of rock performers as only male. In representing various femininities through her musical performance, Smith opens up space for women’s subjecthood in rock outside the virgin/whore dichotomy that permeated the rock scene of the 1960’s and early 1970’s. In part three I examine the Golden Trio (Harry, Ron, and Hermione) using Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s theory of the “erotic triangle” as a basis for examining the interactions between the friends. I argue Rowling constructs Hermione as a subversive character who challenges traditional gender stereotypes. Like Smith, Hermione’s occupation of multiple, non-traditional feminine subject positions allows for readers to identify with a broader collection of subjectivities

An Eye for an Eye: ETA Terrorism and Democracy in Post-Franco Spain

Placed at 2015 Denman Undergraduate Research Forum - HumanitiesOn February 6th, 1981, engineer José Maria Ryan was found in the woods. He had a bullet in his neck and a mouth full of cotton. Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) “Basque Homeland and Freedom” claimed responsibility. Three days later, 200,000 Spaniards gathered in the streets to protest ETA’s violent act. By February 13th, a suspected ETA member named José Arregui Izaguirre was tortured to death in a Madrid prison. Outraged at the government’s brutality, 110,000 protesters flocked to the streets. Spain, newly democratized in 1975, was straining under the weight of a two-decade long terrorist insurrection. While the nation endeavored to consolidate a “government by the people,” elements of the hard-fisted fascist regime remained. Instead of calming the conflict, the government countered ETA’s violence with like-minded brutality. During Spain’s six-year democratic transition, ETA attacks increased, followed by government retaliation. Early 1981 signified a breaking point. Spain’s cycle of reactionary violence was met with backlash by the population, contributing to Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez’s resignation on January 29th. A month later, right-wing Civil Guard members, nostalgic for the stability of General Franco’s authoritarian rule (1939-1975), stormed parliament in a coup attempt. The plot failed, but it highlighted the fragile state of Spanish democracy. Both ETA and the government opposed a restored dictatorship, but years of retaliatory torture, assassinations, midnight kidnappings, and secret arrests had unintentionally weakened the fledgling democracy. By the end of 1981, ETA violence plummeted. Its violent tactics had proven counterproductive in the newly democratized environment. This study examines the relationship between political structure and terrorist violence in the context of Spain’s democratic transition. Although counterintuitive, democratic governments can perpetuate terrorism through hardline counterterrorism crackdowns. As evidenced in Spain, the use of authoritarian practices by democratic states delegitimizes the government, alienates the people, and renews the terrorists’ resolve.The Ohio State University History Department - Honors Thesis Research GrantNo embargoAcademic Major: HistoryAcademic Major: International Studie

Evaluation of French motorway network in relation to slime mould transport networks

© The Author(s) 2016. France has developed a high quality motorway system that has been rapidly rationalised and matured in the late 20th century yet has been founded on ancient, Roman infrastructures. The development of the motorway system is thus an iterative method associated with hierarchical ‘top-down’ processes taking into consideration factors such as population density, network demand, location of natural resources, civil engineering challenges and population growth. At the opposite extreme to this approach is the development of transport networks within simple biological systems which are typically decentralised, dynamic and emerge from simple, local and ‘bottom-up’ interactions. We examine the notion, and to what extent, that the structure of a complex motorway network could be predicted by the transport network of the single-celled slime mould Physarum polycephalum. This comparison is explored through its ability to ‘deduce’ the French motorway network in a series of analogue and digital experiments. We compare Physarum network and motorway network topology in relation to proximity graphs and assess the trade-off between connectivity and minimal network length with a bottom-up model of a virtual plasmodium. We demonstrate that despite the apparent complexity of the challenge Physarum can successfully apply its embodied intelligence to rationalise the motorway topology. We also demonstrate that such calculations prove challenging in the face of significant obstacles such as, mountainous terrain and may account for the missing route between Nice, Grenoble Avignon and Lyon. Finally, we discuss the topological findings with respect to circle and spoke city planning infrastructures and certain species of web-building spiders

United States Food Law Update: Shrouded by Election-Year Politics, State Initiatives and Private Lawsuits Fill in the Gaps Created by Congressional and Agency Ossification

Observers of food law in the 2012 presidential election year witnessed a dramatic slowing of federal initiatives-perhaps arising from a desire by both Congress and the administration to avoid upsetting critical constituent groups during a year seemingly dominated by campaigns and endless talking points. For example, Congress failed to take action on a unique compromise between what some had considered mortal enemies-the Humane Society of the United States and United Egg Producers-that would implement a federal animal welfare standard for laying hens in return for abandoning ballot measures in various states. Similarly, the FDA waited until the early days of 2013 to issue the proposed rules implementing the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Recall that Congress passed this landmark statute not in 2012, but January of 2011. Despite this apparent reluctance to tackle some big issues in 2012, the FDA did decide two significant food law issues: a refusal of a request seeking to rebrand high fructose corn syrup as corn sugar, as well as promulgation of a long overdue rule on salmonella testing in shell egg production

Single-kernel ionomic profiles are highly heritable indicators of genetic and environmental influences on elemental accumulation in maize grain (Zea mays)

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